Frio River Song Festival and Frio Country Resort

We had been looking for an excuse to get down to Concan and the Frio River for quite some time and when I got Owen Temple's email announcing his Frio River Song Festival it didn't take long to say "done deal, we're there." We had heard some good things about
and their golf course plus Owen's event was being held at one of Frio Country Resort's cabins on Friday night and at Frio Country Resort's House Pasture Cattle Company restaurant and music venue on Saturday, so we started exploring their web site to find a place to stay for three days. And I was shocked at the number of options for vacation or weekend lodging.

Situated along the banks of the Frio River and in some of the prettiest part of the Texas Hill Country, Frio Country Resort is a perfect place to spend a vacation or a fun weekend golfing, hiking, enjoying the Frio River, and exploring some of the prettiest hill country in Texas. They offer a very wide range of lodging ranging from rustic one bedroom cabins near the Frio River to six bedroom four bathroom upscale homes that will sleep up to 20.

We wanted to be close to the Frio River, so our group of 8 plus two grand kids stayed in the Frio Country Cabins and Campground section which has 26 rustic cabins ranging from a one bedroom one bath to a four bedroom four bath cabin that sleeps up to 18. All of the cabins were just a short walk to the Frio River and less than a quarter mile from the Frio River Country Store. We had Cabin 6 - a two bedroom cabin that was about 200 yards to the Frio River. Our cabin was perfect:

two bedrooms with two double beds plus a loft with two double beds

two full bathrooms, one of which was in the master bed room

a fully equipped kitchen with everything you need to cook some good meals plus a full sized refrigerator, coffee maker, toaster, blender, and microwave

a rustic wood dining table that would seat 12 - perfect for dining as well as some rousing games late into the evening

a cozy living area with a fireplace, flat screen TV, a couple couches, and a chair

a porch with a picnic table and two chairs facing the river - great for games, coffee in the morning, or a cold drink winding down the day

Our cabin had a hunting theme and was clean, rustic, comfortable, very functional, and affordable - for the price we didn't expect upscale appointments. The cabins have the bare essentials for a fun vacation but you'll need to bring linens, towels, soap, and shampoo.

In the same section that we were in is another good choice called the Beach Club which has 10 cabins built around a small pool. And four of the 2 bedroom 2 bath cabins have a back porch that overlook the Frio River and an outstanding swimming hole within a stones throw from the back porch. The Frio Country Beach Club and the Cabins are all close to and have very easy access to the Frio River. From the Beach Club and the Frio River, north on River Road will take you to several other lodging choices with Frio Country Resort:

Canyon Oaks has several two, three, and four bedroom cabins and houses

Cypress Bend is close to River Road and has a variety of options from cabins to a nice home with a volleyball net, campfire pit, and barbecue pit

Comanche Crossing has rustic cottages/cabins plus a very nice 5 bedroom 5 bath house with a pool table

Mountain Valley Subdivision is a great subdivision of homes that are within walking distance to the golf course and House Pasture restaurant and music venue

The Frio Country Resort web site does a very good job of describing each of the lodging options. If you want to camp, in back of the cabins is a small campground with some RV and tent sites under the trees. Each site has full hook ups plus a picnic table. Big rigs might find it a little challenging to squeeze into some of the sites and get under and around the trees.

All of the accommodations have kitchens and utensils and everything you need to cook your dinner, but if you don't feel like cooking, then head to Frio Country Resort's House Pasture Cattle Company, which is fantastic. From our cabin along the bank of the river, it took us less than 3 minutes to drive to the House Pasture. The House Pasture has inside seating as well as an outside open air pavilion and picnic tables just outside the pavilion. The meals we enjoyed were very good and reasonably priced - the burger was excellent, the chicken fried chicken was juicy and smothered with good gravy, and the rib eye was cooked to perfection and very tasty. They serve lunch and dinner and there is a wide selection of entrees ranging from salads to steaks, ribs, seafood, chicken, and more. After dinner, we had a competitive game of washers then moved to horseshoes and finally to the outside bar to collect our winnings. The grand kids really enjoyed the sand box and playground.

House Pasture is alive with some outstanding music on most weekends during the summer. For example, during the summer of 2010 Gary P. Nunn, Stoney Larue, Bleu Edmondson, Kevin Fowler, Eleven Hundred Springs, Max Stalling, Owen Temple, and several other excellent Texas singer songwriters played on either a Friday or Saturday night. The pavilion is perfect for a evening of music - a raised stage with a big dance floor, picnic tables under the pavilion as well as just outside the pavilion, a couple different bar stations, and a good sound system. And the crowd is a mix of locals, Gardner State Park campers, and Frio Country visitors - a lively and friendly mix that helps make the evening very fun. When you're thinking of visiting Frio Country, you may want to plan the trip around one of the music events - check out their events calendar.

One of our excuses for staying at Frio Country Resort is because they were home to the Frio River Song Festival - two nights of music organized and run by Owen Temple and Adam Carrol. The first night of music was in the back yard of one of the rental cabins and was a very enjoyable evening under the trees and a sky full of stars listening to 8 Texas singer songwriters - we hated it when the music ended! The next evening the music moved to the House Pasture's outdoor pavilion where the same musicians played a set backed up by a band of fellow musicians. We enjoyed a good meal, plenty of cold beer, and 3 hours of music and dancing. Click on the link to read our review of the Frio River Festival - add this music festival to your August 2011 calendar.

The other reason we wanted to stay with Frio Country Resort was to enjoy the Frio River, play golf at their golf course, and explore the local area. The river was a little low, but still fantastic for spending several hours in chairs in the middle of the river, floating down some of the chutes, and swimming in the deep pools. The water is cool, clear, and perfect on a hot summer day. We found a deep pool and spent several hours swimming, hiking up and down the river, and watching the tubers. Several nearby outfitters, including Frio Country Resort, rent tubes, kayaks, or rafts as well as provide a shuttle service.

If you're a golfer, bring your clubs - just down the road from the House Pasture is The Club at ConCan. We had heard a number of good things about the golf course and weren't disappointed. What a fun, challenging, scenic, and memorable 18 holes of golf. The Club at ConCan will throw a little bit of everything at you - dog legs, elevated tee boxes and greens, forced carries, strategically placed bunkers, tight approaches, and more. This is a shot makers course but with 5 sets of tees boxes, you can find one that will suite your game and allow you to bite off as much as you can chew. Read our review of The Club at ConCan to learn more about this fantastic course. The clubhouse is also home to a full service spa as well as a fantastic patio and grill serving some good food. We found it hard to leave the patio after a good lunch and a few cold beers.

During your stay there are lots of other fun things to do, some of which include:

Take a scenic drive - this is some of the prettiest Hill Country in Texas and there are several routes that will give you unparalleled scenic rides - check out a map and take any of the routes to Fredericksburg or Bandera. Bandera is one of our favorite small towns - the locals say "with over 16 bars and 23 churches, we are either prayin' or partyin'" - its the "Cowboy Capital of Texas" with some really fun nightlife and great honky tonks.

Tube, kayak, fish, or canoe - Uvalde Country is known for its three rivers - the Frio, Sabinal, and Nueces. The rivers are clear and slow flowing, lined with river stones and cypress trees, and perfect for all sorts of water activities - kayaking, tubing, canoeing, swimming, fishing, or just sitting in a chair or tube and wasting the day away. There are plenty of outfitters to rent you some equipment and give you a ride up river or show you their favorite fishing holes. Andy's on River Road has tubes and more plus a shuttle service and the Frio Country Resort Store has tubes.

Get Airborne - in a field adjacent to the House Pasture, we enjoyed a 20 minute ride with Holt Helicopters which was reasonably priced and and exciting helicopter ride over the river, golf course, and beautiful hills - what an outstanding and unique way to see the countryside

Jump on a horse - around Bandera are several dude ranches, we can recommend Twin Elm

Go golfing - check outthis golf map to find a course - The Club at ConCan is a must play

Explore:

Lost Maples Natural Area - this park was Texas' first officially designated natural area and named after the abundant big tooth maple trees - a spectacular sight during October and November when the leaves blaze into their fall colors. You can hike, view rare bird species, a variety of wild animals, and over 350 species of maples.

Fort Inge - this historic fort was established in 1849 and visited by Robert E. Lee and other famous soldiers

Garner State Park - this huge park is the oldest park in Texas and has miles of excellent water frontage on the Frio River including some wide deep pools, several different picnic areas, miniature golf, tube and kayak rentals

Go hiking or mountain biking - nearby Garner State Park, the first state park in Texas, has miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking

Have fun and let us know how you enjoyed your stay with Frio Country Resort.